Mowing-machine.



1w/24,275. l l PATENTED MAR.31, 1903.

- G. K. FLOWER.

MOWING MACHINE.

APPLIQATION FILED ooT.ao, 1901. xmmwnn JAN. 12.' 190s.

'No MODEL.

l 'NITED STATES-1 PATENT EEICE.

GEORGE K.. FLOWER, OF PrrTs'nURGfPENNSYLVANIA.

luoWiNG-ivlAoHl-NEL sPEcIFIcA'rrO refining tart of Letters Patent No.724,275, dated March 31, 1903.

Application filed Otober 30, 19011 Renewed January 12, 1903* Serial No.138,627. (No model.)

chinos, of which the following is a specification, reference being hadtherein to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this '1bspecification, in which- Figure l is a plan View vof a portion of myimproved mowing-machine bar. similar view, the blade-guides havingbeenremoved. Fig. 3 is a vlongitudinal sectional viewon the line IH III ofFig. 1. Fig. 4 is a vcross-sectional View on the line'IV IV of Fig. 3.Fig. 5 is a side View in elevation of 'one of the fingers or guardsdetached. Fig.

6 is a cross-sectional view corresponding to` 2o Fig. 4., but showingthe guards composed of 'one piece and provided with upper portionslcorresponding to the blade-guide, but made integral with the mainguide. Fig. 7 is a lan View similar to Fig. 1, but showing the nife in adifferent position at the commencement of the cutting operation in onedirection, i

the position of the knife at Athe approximate termination of theoperative portion of the stroke being indicated in dotted lines.

My invention consists of an improvement in mowing and reaping machinery,and refers more particularly to the guards for the knife or sickle andmeans incorporated therewith by which the grass or other crop being cut`may be partially severed by theupper por-l 4o the most powerful portionof its stroke utilized to the best advantage, and the operationgenerally rendered more positive, accurate, and with less trouble, dueto the clogging of the 'parts by' accumulation of grass,- &c., thanheretofore.

Referring now to the drawings, 2 represents the usual linger or guardcommonly employed on machines of this character, a series of whichguards are secured to a stationary bar 5o 3 by means of bolts 4 orotherwise, such iingers being provided with suitable ways in which ismounted the vibrating bar 5, carry- Fig. 2 isa `proveme'nt is designedto overcome.

ing the usual knife or sickle 6, which Vrests upon the upper face of thestationary knifeplate '7, against the edges 8 of `which the taperededgesof the knivesor sickles bear f Ain the operation of shearing in themanner vided with an upper rearwardly-extending shield or fender 9,adapted to protect the knife-blades and to provide an upper edge -4 oneach side against which the grass, f&c., may bearunder the action of theknife. rlhe width of suchY lingers is usually somewhat narrower than thewidth of the stationary knife or ledger plate 7, and practically thefull length of the cutting edges of the shears or sickles is utilizedduring the larger portion of the stroke in both directions, the resultof which is that the points l0 of the knife not only have to perform thehardest lpart of the work by reason of the fact that some of the grassis forced forward toward the point and accumulated there in a densecollection and also that a greater amount of grass is embraced betweenthe points and the back of the knives, but during such portion of thestroke, coming, as it does, at or about the limit of the forward andback stroke of the knife-bar, the knife thereby receives its movementfrom the actuating-crank when it is approximately about at itsdead-center. This is a serious disadvantage and is one which my presentim- Furthermore, by reason of the excess of work thus'be'ing thrown uponthe point of the knife frequent regrinding becomes necessary and thewear is not proportionate through- Vout,thus considerably shortening theavailable life of the knife. A further disadvantage is that by reason ofthe tapering formation mencing to cut, so that thel cleaning of the'knives and freeing of the accumulated grass from them may befacilitated.= These disadvantages are overcome in my present inventionby the use of upper supplemental plates or guards 11, either securedupon the upper surface of the usual fingers or guards 2, as shown in theprincipal figures of the drawings, or by forming the main guard 2 in onepiece and providing it with outwardly-extending lateral edgescorresponding to the edges of the plate 11, as clearly shown in Fig. 6.This plate approximately conforms to the shape of the mowing-machineguard, extends forward, and terminates in a sharp point 12. The upperedges are sloped backwardly and outwardly to a point 13 somewhat back ofthe approximate line of the points of the knives, at which point theplate -guard is widest and at which point it extends considerably beyondthe edges 8 of the stationary knife 7 at each side. Back of such pointthe plate is considerably narrowed, being curved in on each side, asshown, brought within the width of the cutting edges 8, and extendingback into a rear guard 14, approximating in position and shape the usualshield or fender 9. The result of this construction is that in itsforward travel through the grass it will force the grass away on eachside beyond the lateral stationary cutting edges 8 until it travels backto the point 13, when it will fall back against the stationary cuttingedge in a position to be sheared, so that the main cutting action willbe performed by that portion of the knife between the points indicatedby the letters a b, as shown in Fig. 7, during the time when the strokeof the actuatingcrank is strongest, and thus relieving the points fromthe excessive wear which I have described.

It will be'seen that before the knife commences to cut it will haveconsiderable momentum, due to the fact that the cutting operation iscomprised and accomplished within a less portion of its stroke, whichportion is the middle portion, While the stroke itself may be alsoconsiderably increased, due to the fact that the point of the knife maytravel outwardly on each side a distance equaling the amount ofdifference between the width of the lower fender and that of the upper.

plate-guard without exposing the knife-point. This dierence is clearlyillustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 and is indicated by the distancesrepresented by the letters @c and e, respectively.

The tapering edges of the plate 13 aref ground or filed on', so as toprovide sharp edges 15, which in the forward travel of the machine willcut or partially cut tangled grass, heavy stalks, weeds, dto., thusrelieving the work of the knives and greatly facili-` tating theoperation.

In the form shown in Fig. 6 'the edges 15 may be sharpened byhollow-grinding the guards at an angle,` as indicated by the line c c,thus insuring the same beneficial result The up per plate G (or whenmade integral the upper back sloping portions of the guard) ispreferably provided with a series of notches 16, adapted to engage theblades of grass, so as to more securely hold them against the action ofthe knife.

As thus constructed my invention overcomes the serious difficulties.which I have described and in practice has proved itself to bedesirable, efficient, and valuable for the purposes in view in a highdegree, and the invention will be appreciated by all those accustomed tothis class of machinery. It is very simple and inexpensive inconstruction and operation, not liable to get out of order, andincreases the efliciency of the machine.

Various changes and modifications may be made by the skilled mechanic inthe design, proportions, or other details of construction withoutvarying from my invention, and I do not desire to be limited to theexact form shown and described, but to include all such changes aswithin the scope of the following claims.

1. In a mowing-machine a knife-guard provided with an upper supplementalplate having lateral cutting edges tapering toward the point extendingbeyond the knife-guard at each side, and provided with a back narrowerportion.

2. In a mowing-machine a knife-guard provided with an upper supplementalplate having lateral cutting edges tapering toward the point extendingbeyond the knife-guard at each side and provided with a back narrowerIOO portion and means for arresting and holding the grass.

3. In a mowing-machine the combination of a knife-guard provided with astationary knife, a tapering vibrating shear-knife and an upper portionprojecting beyond the stationary knife for a portion of its length, ateach side in the direction of travel of the vi brating knife.

4. In a mowing-machine the combination of a knife-guard provided with astationary knife, a tapering vibrating shear-knife and an upper portionprojecting beyond the stationary knife for a portion of its length ateach side in the direction of travel of the vibrating knife, and taperedtoward the point.

5. In a mowing-machine,the combination of a knife-guard provided with astationary knife, a tapering vibrating shear-knife, and an upper guardportion projecting beyond the station ary knife for a portion of itslength at each side in the direction of travel of the vibrating knife,such upper guard portion being tapered toward its point, and providedIIO led ger-plate and a vibrating shear-knife; of an upper portionprojecting beyond the ledgerplate for a portion of its length, at eachside in the direction of travel of the vibrating knife, tapered towardone end, provided with shoulders,-laterally-recessed portions, and

notches in such recessed portions immediately back of the shoulders.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE K. FLOWER.

Vitnesses:

R. H. MCLARN, C. M. CLARKE.

